Snickerdoodles

It's finally fall! ....technically. Southern California fall is interesting. In the morning, you need a sweater. By the afternoon you're sweating and turning the air up to full blast, and by evening you're wishing you brought that sweater you couldn't fathom needing in the afternoon. Oh and don't forget to check the weather before you get dressed because the high last weekend was 95, but today the high is 70. This leaves us Southern California natives longing to break out our box of beloved sweaters, dig out our stock of cozy tights, and dust off our boots, but afraid to tuck away our shorts and tank-tops. With summer holding tight onto October, I try to find ways to make it feel like fall -- without overheating! So I get the Halloween decorations out, impulsively buy new thanksgiving towels and pot holders, spend too much on a Autumn scented candle, and as always bake cookies!

Snickerdoodles, with their hint of cinnamon, are the perfect fall cookie. They're spicier than Chocolate-Chip, but not as distinctly Christmasy as Ginger-snaps. And finally, they're just fun to say!

                                   Will be typed out later. *1 and 1/2 butter is 1 and 1/2 sticks of butter or 3/4 of a cup.

Now if you're like me you decide to make cookies RIGHT NOW and never want to wait for the butter to soften. However, it is very, very, very important that you DO NOT melt the butter in the microwave. The best way to soften butter in a hurry is to cut the butter into very small chunks and place it in a bowl on top of the stove. (Note: This only works on gas stoves that have pilots as there is residual heat from the pilot light. If you have an electric stove you can place the bowl in the warmest spot in your house or in you absolutely have to soften it in the microwave in increments of 5 or less seconds on low power. Do not melt the butter!)

It took about 15 minutes for my butter to soften enough. During this time I emptied the dish washer and gathered the ingredients and measuring cups and spoons I would need. 

After softening the butter, you'll add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy. I used a mixer for these, but I mixed by hand for years. If using a mixer, be sure not to over mix. Next you want to add your eggs and vanilla. (Note; Always crack your eggs into a small bowl and not directly into your dough. It's much easier to remove any flecks of shell that might sneak into your egg in a small bowl than out of your dough, and you just never know whats going on inside the shell. I have had one egg in a dozen be bad despite the others being good! Also, don't pour your vanilla over your dough, just in case this time you spill.)

Next, measure your dry ingredients - flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt - into a separate bowl and add into your wet ingredients. 

  

The dry ingredients should be just incorporated into the dough and it should pull away from the sides easily. Be careful not to over mix. Cover the dough and lest rest in the fridge for a couple hours or more.

  

Next mix your cinnamon and sugar in a shallow dish. Spoon dough out and gently roll into a small ball between your palms. 

Dip just the top of the dough balls in the mixture. (It is very important not to roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and cover them completely as this will cause the sugar on the bottom of the cookie to burn as it cooks against the cookie sheet.) 

Space the cookies at least an inch apart from each other and bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Enjoy!